If you haven't noticed, World of
Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria Patch 5.2 is here in full force. Players
have had more than a few days to try out the new additions and
changes that have been implemented in this patch and the response
seems to be mostly positive. However, despite the hard work and
testing put into ensuring that each patch is as flaw free as
possible, inevitably each patch to the game sees some hotfixes along
the way.

March 12  Patch 5.2 Hotfixes

Patch 5.2 is no exception to this rule.
A host of hotfixes have been released since it was released to live
servers with the most recent set taking affect on March 12. This new
round of fixes is packed with class changes, many of which look to
have come directly from Blizzard's giant nerf stick. Here are a few
of the key changes from this round of hotfixes:

Many classes have seen both buffs and
nerfs.

Several changes have been made to the
Throne of Thunder, mostly for 10-player raid groups.

Trinkets using the RPPM system have
been changed to protect against unlucky streaks with no procs.

As you can see almost every class is
taking a big hit from the nerf stick and not surprisingly players are
none to happy about. Before you bust out your torches and pitchforks
and prepare for a good old fashion lynching, read on to see how
Blizzard has attempted to soften the blow.

Softening the Blow?

While it is true that most of the
changes seen in the newest hotfix are in the form of some serious
nerfs. This time around Blizzard has attempted to soften the blow a
bit. How you ask? Lead Systems Designer Greg Street (a.k.a
Ghostcrawler) gives us insight into the class changes, while Lead
Encounter Designer Ion Hazzikostas (a.k.a Watcher) has taken the time
to clear up some things about the changes brought to raid bosses. These
posts give us a brief and rare glimpse giving us a brief
glimpse into the minds behind the game we love.

Remember, its not a goal that every
spec do exactly equally well in every possible encounter, and in fact
we think that would be boring. We just dont want things to get so
extreme that certain specs feel like they arent meaningfully
contributing to the groups efforts. All of this means that raid
performance is a somewhat subjective call and wed like to ask that
you keep that in mind as you offer your feedback.

While Watcher reasons in his post about recent
raid changes:

First off, the Council change, reducing
their health in 10-player modes, was honestly just a bug fix. Yes, it
made the encounter easier, which also makes it a nerf, but we simply
goofed on the numbers. We generally aim for a 3:1 ratio of health for
enemies in 25-player raids as compared to 10-player mode, since
25-player raids typically have ~17 DPS and 10-player raids have 5 or
6. Instead, the ratio on the bosses themselves (but not the Loa
spirits or Sand Elementals) was mistakenly 2.5:1, and we didnt
notice until we started taking a closer look at why 10-player groups
seemed to be having a harder time with the encounter. I apologize for
the error on our part.

Check out the full posts from bothGhostcrawler
and Watcher
concerning the latest hotfix to Patch 5.2.

Conclusions

Ghostcrawler makes some really great
points in his post and makes us feel like Blizzard really does have
our best interests at heart. However, despite his sound reasoning, I
am betting that the classes who are affected by these nerfs still
won't be feeling overly generous. With that being said I think
explanations, even brief ones, concerning hotfixes is a great way to
win player approval and at the very least soften the blow when it
comes to class nerfs, especially when it comes to a passionate
community like the one surrounding World of Warcraft.

How do you feel about the newest batch
of hotfixes for Patch 5.2? Do you think that hotfixes should also
come with a brief explanation from World of Warcraft developers? Does
it soften the blow? Share your thoughts with us by using the comment
section below!

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About The Author

Amunet, also fondly known as Memtron, is an organic life form best known for its ongoing obsession with Blizzard Entertainment's numerous properties. To that end, Amu has authored hundreds (thousands?) of the most popular World of Warcraft guides, editorials, and Top 10 lists on the planet. When not gaming and writing, Amu is busy chasing after her three children in a perpetual loop of ongoing disaster.